Joe Biden unveils US$150 million funding in ‘moonshot’ to battle cancer
- The move is part of a programme by the US president and first lady that aims to reduce the US cancer death rate by at least half by 2047
US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday he is putting US$150 million in new federal funding towards developing technology to better help surgeons successfully remove cancerous tumours.
The award, which Biden touted during a visit to New Orleans, is the latest infusion of cash in Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot”, a programme spearheaded by the president and the first lady that aims to reduce the US cancer death rate by at least half by 2047.
“There’s still more to do but we know we can do it,” Biden said, underscoring the importance of sharing data and information to fundamentally change the fight against cancer.
Nearly 2 million Americans are newly diagnosed with solid tumour cancers each year and surgical removal is often the first step in their treatment, the White House said.
Next-generation microscopes and imaging technology hope to make these surgeries more effective, reducing the need for repeat surgeries and decreasing the damage to healthy tissue, ultimately saving and extending lives, the White House said.
In its first two years, the administration has invested more than US$400 million to fast-track progress on how to prevent, detect and treat cancer, the White House said.